


October 6: Flogging

by Perpetual Motion (perpetfic)



Series: Sir and Sweetheart [3]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: BDSM, Dom/sub, Flogging, Kinktober: 2019, M/M, non-graphic flogging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-24 19:14:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20912705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perpetfic/pseuds/Perpetual%20Motion
Summary: Mike needs punishment, but Rafael doesn't think so.





	October 6: Flogging

Mike presses against the wall and lets out a quiet sob when Rafael smacks him with the flogger for the twenty-fifth time. He hasn't been required to count aloud, but that hasn't stopped him from counting in his head. He arches his back away from the feeling when Rafael drags the flogger up his back and hisses when Rafael presses up behind him, fingers delicately stroking his hip.

"No pulling away," Rafael says quietly, though there's no censure in his voice. "You know better."

"I need--"

"I know what you think you need," Rafael says, trailing the flogger up the back of Mike's right leg, and then repeating the move on the left. "You were very clear about that. But what's the rule?"

Mike drops his head, feeling tears trail down his face. "You get to decide."

"That's right," Rafael says. He kisses Mike's shoulder, a small reward for remembering the rules. "And I decided that if flogging is what you need tonight, I'm not letting you choose which whip to use."

"I--" Mike bites back the rest of the sentence when Rafael squeezes his hip. "Rafael," he says quietly. "Rafael, I don't deserve this."

Rafael lifts the flogger and drapes it over Mike's shoulder. The thick, velvet tendrils tease his nipple as Rafael drags the flogger backwards. "You deserve exactly this," Rafael says quietly, the hard conviction in his voice matched by the deliberate softness with which he trails the flogger up Mike's spine. "You think you did something wrong today, but you didn't. But you need the release a good whipping gives you, and I'm happy to do that."

Mike presses his forehead to the wall and lets another sob tumble from his mouth. "I didn't mean--"

"Hush," Rafael says. He wraps his arm around Mike's waist when Mike immediately goes silent. "I know what you think you deserve," he says. "You think you should hurt as much outside as you do inside. But that's not how this works. It's not a release if all you're doing is changing which direction it hurts."

Mike doesn't try to argue again. Another sob gets loose, and he knows that's the last one that he'll be able to hold back. Rafael's made sure of that by agreeing to the 25 lashes Mike full-out demanded when he came over but refusing to hit Mike with anything that would actually hurt. Every hit of the velvet had felt like comfort, not pain; the soft, thick strips reminding Mike of the way Rafael combs his fingers through his hair and brushes his thumb back and forth over Mike's knuckles when they hold hands. It made him remember the ultra-fluffy blanket Rafael is completely unembarrassed about laying out on the couch for movie night and the thick, wool socks Rafael gifted him two weeks ago when he'd had to break a planned date because of a stake-out.

Every drag of the velvet had reminded Mike that he's loved and cared for, that he can be imperfect and adored. That he can't possibly know how to make everything all right in every situation, and that there's no shame in needing help. 

He cries quietly, forehead pressed to the wall. Rafael tosses the flogger away and wraps both arms around his waist, saying nothing as he lays his cheek on Mike's back. He doesn't tell Mike to calm down. He doesn't tell him he did the best he could. He simply holds him and lets him feel what he needs to feel.

Mike doesn't know how long he cries, but he knows Rafael holds him through it. When he finally turns around and pulls Rafael into a hug, Rafael responds to his quiet "thank you" by spreading his hands on Mike's back and keeping him close.


End file.
